Tag Archives: harry potter

When I first launched Xenite.Org in 1997 I consolidated content from several science fiction and fantasy Websites I had set up on other services. Within months I began adding new (sub-) sites to the domain, including Star Wars content. Long ago I moved most of that content to another domain, SF-Worlds.Com, but I have always wanted to build a new section devoted to Star Wars on Xenite.Org. This week I finally completed work on what I hope will become a much larger section over the next few years.

We’re in the process of interviewing Robert Mellette, who was known as Xenastaff to many fans of Xena: Warrior Princess. He has a book coming out in a few days. We have not yet decided whether to publish the interview on Xenite.Org or SF-Fandom.com but I will share an update here when we get things sorted out.Continue reading →

Posted onAugust 30, 2013|Comments Off on Tolkien and Harry Potter at Dragon*Con

This Saturday, August 31, 2013, I will be joining several other people on a “Middle-earth and Harry Potter” fan track at Dragon*Con 2013 in Atlanta (the Website has been down several times for me so I apologize if it’s not working for you).

This marks the first year I will be returning to Dragon*Con as an “Attending Pro” in over 6 years. I was pleased to be invited to participate on a Tolkien fan panel. Of course, I started the Tolkien and Middle-earth fan track at Dragon*Con many years ago but as I moved farther away from Atlanta and depended on TheOneRing.Net more and more for support, it just made sense to ask them to take over management of the track.Continue reading →

Okay, it wasn’t secret — everyone knew about it but the public wasn’t invited.

And it’s really not “Harry Potter world” but rather The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

And it was only the first of two grand openings. You can watch the second grand opening (for the public) at 9:00 AM Eastern Time on Friday, June 18 here. Is that Website really only devoted to this Harry Potter business? Seems a waste, especially since they don’t stream an archive of the event afterward.

Disney’s Inside The Magic Website posted these three videos from tonight’s event, and since they are free for embedding I’m embedding them here.

It seems an idle question, I suppose. But Hawke Robinson raised this question recently as we were talking about the Harry Potter books in comparison to Tolkien’s Middle-earth mythology. Tolkien’s legacy has come close to establishing itself in a longeval niche much like the works of older writers from previous centuries.

If I recall correctly, I think Hawke was suggesting that Tolkien may now be given as much value as Shakespeare as a literary genius — or soon may be. The idea that in 500 years people will still find Tolkien as relevant as Shakespeare teases the imagination into thinking that Tolkien succeeded in creating an “English” novel (exemplifying what he felt might have been the style of some English books had the invasion of 1066 not happened).

This is an example of the kinds of topics we can meander into at Middle-earth Talk Radio but it’s one that deserves attention from other people, including fans of both Harry Potter and Middle-earth. Will J.K. Rowling’s legacy match Tolkien’s? I suppose another interesting question is whether Tolkien’s legacy should match Shakespeare’s, but there is no poll for that (yet).

You can take the poll on the new Middle-earth Radio Website.

Unfortunately, old user accounts at the previous incarnation of Middle-earth Radio could not be brought forward into this site redesign. If you had a user account you will have to sign up again. Please make an effort to do that. Hawke and I appreciate all the feedback we have received for the Middle-earth Talk Radio show.

As for Harry Potter vs. Lord of the Rings, I think they will both enjoy considerable longevity. I feel the Harry Potter story is relevant to every generation. It’s not really locked into the timeframe in which it was written (the 1990s to 2000s) so much as it is set in a “Harry Potter timeframe” in the same way Middle-earth is set in the Third Age.

The Harry Potter books follow the lives of almost ordinary young protagonists who grow up during a very dark and frightening time. It is a sad statement about human nature that today we have dark lord-like evil Satan-serving enemies of humanity like Osama bin Laden, but the War on Terror does in some way resemble those classic fictional struggles between good and evil.

Please do visit the site and vote in the poll. It’s a simplistic poll but I think it’s worth your time and attention. I hope you agree.

It’s time to pay the piper. Everyone knows at the back of their minds that there is a price to pay for new technology. So far, we’ve gotten off lightly on the consumer cost of the latest 3-D movie technology.

Sure, there have been long lines, and the ticket prices bumped up from around $10 to $13. But now AMC Theaters and Regal Cinemas just increased the ticket price for 3-D movies again this weekend. News reports suggest that it should cost around $15 in most markets for a 3-D movie ticket.

And you still have to wear the goofy glasses, too.

On top of that, new blockbuster movies are being released in 3-D. Warner Brothers announced earlier this week that “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” will be distributed in 3-D format. I hope that is not ONLY in 3-D format.

Warner Brothers, are you listening? It’s cool to see things pop off the screen every now and then, but the goofy glasses are not comfortable.

We’re all waiting for true holographic projection technology. I would estimate that is still 10-15 years away from commercial production. I hope I’m pleasantly surprised in the next 5 years.

Frankly, I would pay $25 a ticket for a real holographic movie — especially one where the holograms are substantial enough that I would not be looking at my fellow audience movies through “ghosts”.

So, I’ll continue to see movies in the cinema. I love the experience. I’m not happy about the prices. But I love stadium seating, huge wide screens, and the 3-D effects are tolerable for me (for now).